'Amazon warehouse' Leicestershire school extension gets green light

Neighbours are worried about the size and appearance of the expansion

A school building extension neighbours fear will look like an "Amazon warehouse" has been approved.

Hastings High School in Burbage, near Hinckley, Leicestershire, will be expanded in a bid to increase its capacity to 1,000 pupils.

Leicestershire County Council backed the scheme, put forward by its education team, at a planning meeting.

The council predicted the school would have a deficit of more than 100 places by January 2026.

A number of new homes are planned for Burbage, which the council took into account, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

However, neighbours of the school raised a number of concerns about the plan, including the impact on their peace and privacy, and views from their homes and gardens.

'Reluctant' approval

Speaking at the meeting, one neighbour said: "It will be overbearing and will significantly affect our amenity. This will be like an Amazon warehouse."

She also criticised what she called the "functional and bland" design of the building, calling on the council to give residents "something beautiful to look at".

Councillors agreed with residents' criticisms over the appearance of the building but said they did not feel that was a valid planning reason to reject the scheme, and ultimately voted to approve it.

Chairman of the meeting, Les Phillimore, said: "Reluctantly, I will have to agree with the proposal [to approve the application] simply because I cannot think of any planning reasons not to support it."

The extension will include a new sports hall, classrooms, dining room and bigger car park, increasing the school's capacity by 200 pupil spaces.

The council added that staff numbers will increase from 100 to 120.